Samurai Shuffles!
by Rigbutter96
Summary: AU! The world has changed. Gone is the era of the Hidden Villages. United, the Elemental Nations lives under one banner. These are the stories of one man, trained as both Shinobi and Samurai, and his many associates, accomplices, and allies as they embark on a journey to answer a single question: What is the purpose of our lives? Naruto x Crossover Harem of many women.
1. Chapter 1

**AN: Yeah, had this thought a while ago. Decided to write it out and see where it goes. Basically, Naruto is a travelling samurai going on adventures for no reason other than to have an adventure. His backstory will be explained during the story.**

**The technology is a sort of industrial age/futuristic feudal era mix, so expect some steampunk kinda stuff. A really good description would be Afro Samurai kinda stuff. Hopefully that helps somewhat.**

**Important Characters in the story:**

**Naruto Uzumaki- A mysterious samurai and shinobi mix hailing from Fire Country, he travels the world on his journey, meeting numerous different people, and learning from their experiences, and adding to his Unpredictable Sword Style. Former member of the Five Irons Brigade. Age: 22**

**Sasuke Uchiha- A samurai from a noble family, he moves from place to place searching for his brother in an attempt to gain revenge against him for the death of their parents, vowing to destroy the man and reclaim his lost honor. Age: 23**

**Jiraiya- A mix of samurai and Shinobi, Jiraiya was Naruto's sensei, and the man who had raised him for most of his life, teaching him everything he could. Age: 46**

**Miku Hatsune (American Name translation)- A former geisha who Naruto saved, becoming one of his companions and a romantic interest. Age: 20**

**Serafall the Leviathan- One of the former members of the Five Iron Brigade, she jumps at any chance of capturing Naruto and marrying him.**

**Caitlyn Vise- A soldier for hire in Tollen, she acts as a somewhat sheriff to the city and has a keen interest in Naruto as a husband, going to whatever length to keep him in the city.**

**Oboro Kouga- Raised to be a shinobi, but with absolutely no skill at the art and abused verbally and physically by her family, she left home in the hopes of finding a place to belong to. Eventually, she met Naruto and follows him on his adventures, hoping to be close to her secret love.**

**Akuma Sarugaki- A dark and mysterious man with a mysterious past connected to the fall of the Last Era, who hunts Naruto and other members of the Five Irons Brigade relentlessly for an as of yet unknown reason. Age: Unknown**

**Esdeath- A General in the Military, she is infatuated with Naruto and seeks to find, defeat, and claim him as her own. Age: 22**

**Ikaruga Hanabira- A swordswoman who follows Naruto around, intent on dragging him back to her village to 'pay his dues' to her. Age: 23**

**Hanabi Hyuuga- A small, somewhat young girl who hounds Sasuke to teach her to be a samurai, in the hopes of becoming the first female samurai. Age: 12**

**Konohamaru Sarutobi- 'Apprentice' to Naruto, he follows him like a lost puppy, hoping to learn from him and become the greatest warrior in the world. Age: 12**

**Shigure Kosaka- Similar to Ikaruga, Shigure wishes to test herself against Naruto to bring him back to her village for marriage, in Nadeshiko. Age: 22**

**Cyrus Temple- General of the Indiashka Deathsquads, he hunts any and all 'Impure Souls of the Damned', such as samurai and shinobi, his loyalty shall always be to the religious fundamentalist state of Indiashka. Age: 27**

**Kusano Tatsunori- A small girl hailing from the fallen lands of Kashkura, she is the last of the Royal Bloodline of the tree growers. The Last Kashkura. Age: 4**

**Kokabiel Sendo- Former Leader of the Fire Country Resistance, he was an old friend of Naruto's before events lead to their eventual fallout, and hatred of each other. A former member of the Five Irons Brigade. Age: 22**

**Yamamoto Honoute- Current Fifth Hokage, he drastically changed the way the village of Konoha was run, as well as the overall military presence of Konoha Shinobi, bringing about a technological stagnation for the village. Age: 40**

**Raizen Tatsukage- Commander-in-Chief of the regular armed forces of Fire Country, he is an emotionless statue who is merciless on the battlefield. Age: 36**

**For those of you who are historical buffs about Japanese Culture, I know that geisha aren't prostitutes, but for the purpose of the story, they are.**

(Prologue)

It was raining. A heavy downpour of water that drenched everything into a hazy cloud of unseeable conditions, a grey haze that made it nearly impossible to see anything but shapes, and even then it was difficult to see beyond a few meters.

An open field, once full of life and green, long since turned grey from mud, boots, and marching. Waste slung about, whether through practicality or carelessness cannot be determined, even as the field has been reshaped.

What once was a flat, green field has turned into a pockmarked, scarred, and destroyed stretch of land. Weapons and bodies litter the area, blood staining the earth as men, once so proud to die for their land, lay, eyes open and wide with fear, anger, hatred, and despair. A single flag waving in the breeze, bearing the winner of the battle.

A great oak tree adorns it, surrounded by a blazing fire, black upon red, rests next to the corpse of a man, his eyes closed and a content, peaceful smile upon his face as he is finally freed from this hell that is earth. Crows and vultures scour the battlefield, searching for their visceral meal, picking at the bodies of the fallen.

The sounds of fighting are still in the air, some miles away, the clashing of blades and ideals resounding throughout the land. A river runs by, slowly being tainted by the body of a fallen warrior, stained red as it flows.

A waterfall, babbling over the edge of a cliff, falling to form the river. A stone bridge connects two lands, one with a heart and will of Iron, the other, bearing the flag of a cold, unrelenting storm.

Growing in the middle was a single blade of grass, several inches long, wavering in the wind as the elements tried to kill it, only for it to be plucked and placed in the mouth of a figure with bright blue eyes.

(Episode 1- People Having Met)

"You fucking cheat!"

The roar was heard throughout the tavern as a middle aged patron stood up, his face set in a snarl as he did, gripping a rusty katana in his hand threateningly towards another patron, this one far calmer than the others who were panicking.

The first patron was a portly man, in the middle of life, as shown by his hair, or lack thereof, on the top of his head, and the ring of it around the sides. He was pudgy, with an obvious pot belly, wearing farmer clothes underneath some old, half destroyed and pieced together samurai armor from different places, as evidenced by the different color and make of the various pieces. How he managed to even get them on due to his obvious size problems, would remain a mystery. It was obvious to even new patrons that he wasn't a samurai, mostly in part due to his rage filled face.

The man he was yelling at, however, was the exact opposite. He was calm, collected, even if his grinning face betrayed that fact. His hair was a wild mess of blonde locks that fell about his head in a messy way, spiky and pointing in all directions. On his cheeks, tripled to each side, were what looked like whiskers. His eyes were a deep cobalt that held a slight twinkle of mischief in them, while across his left eye was a deep scar. His chin was covered in a small, trimmed goatee. Although, no one could see these things.

He wore a black long sleeved shirt and black pants, the pants and shirt tied together at his waist by a thick wrapping of white bandages. His shirts sleeves had orange coloring to them on the shoulders, with red straps keeping the garment closed, and grey columns on the side of it. His forearms were covered in grey gloves, covering his hands and fingers, with plated armor on the back that reached up to his elbow. Wrapped around his neck and covering his lower face was a long red scarf that fell to his knees, and tied around his forehead was a black headband. His pants were tucked into a pair of black boots that had slight curves to them at the toes, bringing them to a point. Underneath his clothes he had on armor in a dark red color, while on his back was a red straw hat with a razor sharp edge, making others realize that the seemingly harmless hat was inlaid with steel. Behind his lower back, hanging at a diagonal angle, were two katanas, each one the polar opposite of the other, and a wakizashi in the middle of the three blades. The two katana had opposing color schemes. Whereas one was black with a dark blue diamond pattern on the hilt, the other was white with a red diamond hilt. The wakizashi had a look of age to it, as it seemed to have been made years ago, possibly before the current period.

The first patron angrily pointed at the table, a snarl on his face as he gestured to the scattered cards on the wooden furniture. "You cheating son of a bitch! How dare you cheat in the presence of one such as I, a noble samurai! What have you to say for yourself, Scum?!"

"It's not my fault you suck at cards." The youthful man said jovially as he grinned even more, raking in the pieces of gold, silver, and copper that had been wagered and won by him. It was enough for him to pay for his room at the inn, buy some supplies for his journey, and maybe even a bit of 'company' from a nice girl, maybe even a geisha.

The man began to tremble in rage as he began to swing his sword around in an enraged manner, narrowly missing beheading an elderly man who was drowning his sorrows at a nearby table, and generally being a nuisance with his temper tantrum. "Idiotic fool! I am a samurai! A warrior chosen to defend this land from ny threat! A foolish man such as you, who knows nothing of honor, must pay for this insult!"

The second patron simply smiled and waved him off, taking his winnings of money and putting them in his travel pack. "My friend, you are the one who knows nothing of honor, nor are you a samurai. A real samurai would have accepted his loss with grace and dignity, instead of wailing and cursing over it. The armor you wear is most certainly either a fake, or taken from the dead."

The patron's face began to turn an interesting shade of purple at the insinuation, his entire body trembling as he seethed in his anger. "I am Kumaka Nishizuka, the resident samurai of this village, and I will not have my honor-"

"Save it for a man who cares, or a geisha paid to listen, Kumaka-san. As it stands, it is getting late and I have much to do tomorrow, so sleep is needed for one such as myself." The blonde intoned as he began to walk away, his steps sounding much softer than expected, moving with a skilled grace.

Kumaka scowled and asked in an irritated tone of voice. "What is your name, stranger?" 

The blonde stopped and turned halfway around, his blue eyes closed in an eye smile. "Oh, and why should I tell you, hmm?"

The pudgy man turned an interesting shade of red as he swung his rusted blade towards the blonde, intent on killing the man and taking his money back. The sword raced through the air as the blonde just stood there, tipping his hat to hide his eyes as it descended upon his person.

In a flash, Kumaka was on the ground bleeding, his sword arm cut off at an angle, screaming bloody murder at the blonde currently wiping blood off of the metal rim of his hat. His arm was laying a few feet away, still clutching the disgrace of a sword in his severed hand. Pain gripped him as he rolled along the ground, screaming his head off as he did, only to stop as the booted foot of the blonde was put in front of his head, his eyes rolling up to stare at the blondes covered face.

"We'll call it a draw." The blue eyed man said as he looked at Kumaka with pity. It was such a shame that the man had decided to try and take his life. He would have thought that the man had a little more value in his life than stealing and swindling from others. Then again, he didn't have much to say for himself. He HAD cheated at the card game, but he knew the man didn't catch him. Maybe a Samurai or Shinobi, hell, even a Soldier would have seen it.

Truly, Kumaka was a disgrace.

Stepping out into the streets of Shuzu Gai, the blonde looked over the street to see what his eyes could see, smell what his nose could, and listen to what his ears heard. Shuzu was, like all other places, a town of the future. Metallic pipes and wires ran the length of the street, giving power to lights and signs. tightly packed building and growing structures, most already reaching at least five or six stories tall, a few seven or eight mixed in, dotted the sky.

People went about their lives, moving swiftly and going from one place to another, dodging and moving around one another and ignoring their fellow man. It was truly a growing city of the future, seeing as it had already abandoned the old ways of life for the modern age of electricity and steam engines.

Flying overhead was a large, ship like vehicle that looked like it belonged in the water, but instead floated along in the air, following the air currents with it's sails to whatever destination the uncontrollable element sent it towards.

Walking along the street at a lazy pace, with hunched shoulders and blue eyes dulled, the blonde man began looking for a place to stay, hoping for an Inn or Hotel that had decent accommodations for travellers. He could not count how many times he had rented a room at a seemingly nice Inn only to have it turn out to be a nightmare from how filthy and desolate it was.

That was the problem with this worldwide increase in technology; people began to stop taking care of their things. They stopped feeling the pride of a craftsman or an artisan and began to realize that the things that took so much time and energy, so much passion to build and create, could be made in minutes from one of the factories.

There was certainly good things for the increase in the Industrial world, oh most definitely. Food was becoming more of a commodity than a burden, as many families now found it far easier to get food that before. Things such as clothes, which in the old world would have taken weeks, or even months, to make could now be manufactured faster and easier in a matter of hours.

That was what the world had begun to turn into as time went by. After the last bout of war that had occurred a few years ago, the people had been determined to make the future a brighter place, and if that meant spending ridiculous amounts of time and energy on building machines to make their lives easier, then more power to them.

But that was neither here nor there, the blonde thought. His own personal reflections on the changing world was inconsequential at the moment. He had to find a place to stay before nighttime or he would be sleeping with the beggars in the street.

The blonde walked through the crowed, looking for any sign of an Inn. It was a difficult task, for sure, as not many Inns resided this far into cities, as most tended to stay near the edges and on the main road. They obviously got better business that way, as travellers needed places to stay. Simple business, if a bit obvious.

The blonde paused after passing a particular building, backing up to look at it with clearer eyes. It was a bit rundown, nothing a few bits of home improvement wouldn't help, with an old school aesthetic to it. It was built like an old school temple, complete with a Torii gate and koi pond in the front garden.

He felt his perverse nature take hold, demanding he enter this place of ill repute, and taste the forbidden fruits held within. He fought, he truly did, but he was a man with red blood and a face. Even if he truly wanted to, his perverted side would have hounded him to go in and see what kind of Geisha could be found.

Walking towards it, he caught the scent of peaches and musk, a sure sign as to what went on in this building if there ever was one. He made his way up to the door, ignoring the koi pond as he counted the money he had one from Kumaka, which totalled about 50,000 yen. Just enough for a good time.

Stepping into the entryway, he was greeted to the sight of several young woman, all wearing kimono and tabi with socks, cleaning up the sitting room from some kind of altercation. There was a small amount of blood on the floor and a good portion of the girls had large bruises forming on their faces, giving evidence to the fact that some kind of violent interaction went on here. There was also the fact that the Lady of the establishment was directing everyone to clean up the mess, before turning to him.

She was truly a beauty, with a voluptuous figure and heart shaped face. Long purple hair trailed down her back held up by a bow, the purple kimono with yellow trim barely holding in her massive cleavage, and covering her legs from sight. Her face was naturally pale, her ruby red lips standing out even more because of the fact. Over her left eye was an eyepatch with a comical skull on it. The obi wrapped around her waist was long, tied into a large bow behind her back. If he had been a normal man, he would have been drooling a deep puddle on the floor by now. As it was, he had just enough self control to prevent that from happening.

The blonde watched as she walked gracefully up to him, pulling a fan out of her sleeve and covering her mouth as she approached him, a careful, dangerous glint in her eyes that he had seen on people before, in what felt like a lifetime ago. "Hello there, Sir. Welcome to The Blossom. How may I assist you?"

It was difficult to keep his eyes on her face and not her breasts, but he managed. "Well, you see, I'm looking for a place to stay for the night, and I couldn't find anywhere else. So, I was wondering if I could rent one of your rooms..."

The woman blinked before covering her smile with a fan she pulled from her sleeves, acting demure and mysterious. "You do know what kind of establishment this is, don't you, Stranger? We do not normally rent out rooms for people to sleep in."

"Yes. You mainly do it so they can have sex with girls many years younger than them." The blonde man said as he looked around, blue eyes swiveling to the various girls watching on in curiosity and hope. "But, all I'm looking for is a place to stay. I do believe that that wouldn't be too hard."

She gave a melodious laugh as she looked at the blonde stranger. "Very well, Stranger. We will let you have the room. But, so as to keep up with the establishment, I ask that you pay for at least one night with one of our girls." 

The blonde nodded at that. It was an acceptable deal and one he could get behind. It got him a room and a girl to help relieve his stress, and it also used up all of the money he got from Kumaka.

A win-win situation if there ever was one.

(Line Break)

It was quiet, well, as quiet as a whorehouse could be. The blonde had stripped off most of his clothing, keeping only the orange scarf around his neck and face and his pants, the rest of his clothing and armor sitting neatly in a pile besides the futon.

He had had no intention of coming here and staying, in all honesty. Hell, he didn't even have plans to come to this place, but something in that smell had made him come here, vaguely thinking it was familiar for some reason. He couldn't accurately place it, but he knew it from somewhere. Now it was just a matter of time before he remembered what he forgot, and life would continue on. Hell, it's not like he had anything to worry about. He could handle himself pretty freakin' well.

The sound of footsteps outside his door made him look up, seeing it was already night time, denoting to him being lost in his thoughts. He watched as a female form stood behind the paper door, his eyes momentarily drinking in her rather shapely form. A soft knock was heard and he gave his approval to enter. "Come in."

She was beautiful. That was without a doubt. Her face was perfectly heart shaped, not a single blemish on her creamy pale skin. Her hair was an exotic bluish-green, tied in two pigtails seemed silky and pure. Her eyes were the same shade as her hair, even with the nervous look in them. She wore a mostly black kimono that had grey diamonds on it, evenly spaced to line the hem of the silky material. She didn't wear the tabi the other did, instead wearing the socks only. Tied around her waist was a lime green obi tied into a bow.

The blonde could tell she was a virgin. She practically reeked of it. There was too much innocence in her eyes for her to be anything but a virgin.

The blonde looked at her as she spoke, her voice soft and melodious. "Excuse me, sir, but can I ask your name?"

He pondered for a moment. Maybe he should. Wasn't like she would recognize him or anything. He was wearing a scarf over his face, after all. "My name is Naruto Uzumaki. And what would yours be?"

The girl gave a nod and a meek smile as she replied, her voice still melodious but far more timid. "My name is Miku Hatsune, or Hatsune Miku if you prefer the old ways of speech."

Naruto gave a nod as he sat up and stretched out on the futon, his bare chest catching Miku's attention as he did. He had a surprising amount of scars on his chest, with a massive one going all the way over his chest. It was shaped like a giant X, and had rough edges like someone had taken a burning or really hot blade or knife and carved the X into his chest. Over his heart was what looked like a scar that had been purposefully carved there, which she recognised as the symbol for 'Heart'. On his right shoulder was what looked like five solid black lines under an oak leaf, a tattoo as it were. "Well, since you're here, do whatever you want, just don't make too much noise. I'm going to sleep."

That got her attention away from his scarred torso and tattoo as she looked at him in surprise. He wasn't going to sleep with her? That made no sense. Who in the world goes to a brothel, rents a room and girl, only to use the room to sleep and nothing else? "You're...not going to sleep with me?"

The blonde man simply nodded as he cracked an eye open to regard her lazily, before he turned onto his side. "Nope. I'm not gonna. Too tired for sex and fucking. Go to sleep or something. Hell, read a book."

Miku puffed her cheeks out and pouted. Even though she was kind of frightened of losing her maidenhood, he could at least act like it mattered to him! What kind of person does that?

Seeing as he would ignore her if she persisted in poking the subject, she looked at the his swords and gently ran a hand over the wooden sheaths. "Are you a Samurai or a Shinobi or something?"

"Or something." Was the flippant reply.

Miku pouted again, her earlier nervousness gone now that he wasn't going to fuck her. Instead it was replaced by a curiosity. "You don't talk much do you?"

"I most certainly do talk. But at the moment I am tired and require a bit of sleep." He rolled over onto his back again, eyes still closed.

Sighing, Miku chose a different tactic to get SOME kind of information out of the blonde man of intrigue. "Did you come here with anybody? Any friends or comrades or something?"

Naruto cracked an eye open and rolled over to regard her for a moment, his blue eyes searching for something in her teal ones. "Yeah. I did. Told him to come find me at the Northern Gate of this hole tomorrow afternoon. Other than that, he can do what he wants."

(Line Break)

Outside the gates of Shuzu Gai mid-morning stood a figure, features hidden well by a dark black cloak that covered every inch of his body. His eyes were completely focused on a man wearing patchwork armor, missing one of his arms, ranting and raving about a 'blonde bastard' who had cut off his arm as he continued to get himself deeper into his cups, completely ignoring the large group of cloaked monks, travellers, and merchants moving behind him and mingling with the people coming and going from the city, even more people mixing together to form a sort of human wall. His wound was bandaged horribly, and infection was most likely to set in after a few days, but he felt nothing but contempt for the man.

He had seen Samurai before, and while the man paraded himself around as one, he most obviously wasn't. He may have worn the armor, wielded the blade, but he obviously did not live the life that True Samurai did. His walk and way of speech was wrong, his weight was put heavily onto his front foot, and while it was intimidating to civilians, he was nothing more than a large bully throwing his weight around. He may just have to thank whoever the 'Blond Bastard' was for cutting the pathetic man's arm off.

The morning sun bore down upon him as he made his way deeper and deeper into the cities murky streets, slowly being drowned out by the smog and pollution filling the air, dark shadows being cast by the hanging wires and laundry. Why anyone wanted to live in this place, in this filth, was beyond him. Why live here where there was such a great chance of being killed for a few coins, when out there you can live and do as you want?

It truly baffled him as he walked along the path, stopping to regard a certain smell that pervaded his sense of smell that simply drew him in. It smelled faintly of peaches with a hint of cinnamon, but primarily it smelled of female desire. He was drawn to it, following his nose as he navigated through the garden, walking across the water of a koi pond without hesitation as he went towards the door to the brothel, which he now read was called the Blossom.

**AN: I was originally going to have a massive confrontation to end the first chapter of this story, but I felt that maybe that wasn't a great idea. As it is, I am focusing more of my attention on this now. It is a fresh take on the Narutoverse, really, it is, and I feel the need to flesh it out in a unique manner.**

**As for the pairings for Naruto and Sasuke, well, Naruto is going to have a harem, obviously if you have read the upper Author's Note, and Sasuke will have one as well, though Naruto's is going to be the center point of focus for some lovin'. A lot of them you may recognize, and I encourage you to look them up and read/watch them in their respective works.**

**As for the obvious characters coming from other Anime/Manga, well, I needed names and people, but I in no way own them or Naruto. Next chapter has a lot more violence in it, for sure, and we can finally begin the first Arc, or the Introduction Arc.**

**Yeah, I have it sort of figured in my head as to what is going to happen. If I'm really good, I can have each Arc take up about 3 or 4 chapters and get out with this and get on with other things. Until this is at least 40K words, I will keep writing for this one. It takes me a little while to write chapters and such. I have to be in a specific mood and be motivated by the reviewers and PMers as well.**

**In a bit of sad news, I am taking off a lot of my earlier works, mainly anything not up to snuff with my hopefully better way of writing things, as I can clearly see a major difference between now and then of my stories.**

(Preview)

It was certainly awkward after that.

There was absolutely no doubt about that. Silence reigned as everyone present processed what he had said, the gears in their heads slowly turning to give meaning to the words that had come out of his mouth and his actions following it.

It was the Matron who spoke first, her tone filled with disbelief as she looked at the smug blonde, a bit insulted at his words. "What the hell is wrong with you?! You don't just say those kinds of things to people. They have feelings! And that table was not cheap!"

"Feelings? Feelings are for wimps. A true man feels nothing but hunger and lust! Whether for sex or battle is irrelevant!" Konohamaru nodded behind him, his head bobbing as he absorbed the words coming from Naruto, completely forgetting it was the blonde who had given him the plumb shaped bump on his head in the first place.

Miku simply shook her head, her pigtails whipping about wildly as she did. She just had to be following an idiot, didn't she? Why couldn't she have been sent to follow a nice, normal, sane man with a good paying job and no penchant for causing misery and chaos? "That was the stupidest thing that has ever come out of your mouth, wasn't it?"

Matron simply scoffed and looked at her, her eyes deadpan as she did. "Then you've obviously never really spoken to him, have you?"

(End Preview)


	2. Chapter 2

AN: Alright, a short Authors note this time. As it is, I am continuing this in a happy way, as I really didn't think that I would be getting out another chapter as soon as I did with this.

Not much to say really other than that this chapter has some references to religions and things near the bottom of the chapter, and if it makes you uncomfortable then please click away.

As it stands, I am really looking forward to seeing the feedback for this chapter.

Now, to continue this story for the betterment of myself and you guys and gals.

(Episode 2- Running About the Town)

If there was any way to describe the particular expression on his face, it would be annoyance mixed with a burning fury rivalling that of a sun, mixed with the thunderous power of a great storm. It would have been intimidating had it not been on the face of a young boy of around twelve who was continuously plagued by a decent amount of baby fat, making the expression cute to passing woman.

The young boy was an interesting one, if a bit strange at first glance. He wore no shirt, leaving his childish, if muscled, torso bare to the world, his tan skin an obvious mark of spending long hours in the baking sun. White pants kept his dignity covered, the bottoms frayed and torn from use, feet bare to the world. Tied around his forehead and keeping his spiky, oaken brown locks out of his deep brown eyes was a red headband with the kanji for monkey on it with the ends trailing to his knees. Slung across his back was a long wooden pole that had intricate markings all over it, mostly depicting monkeys and apes of all kinds. At his waist is a simple wooden sword with a very hardened and sharp edge, giving it rudimentary cutting power.

The boy stormed through the streets, searching for something, or rather someone, in an angry manner early in the morning. People parted ways for him as he ran through the crowed of the morning travellers, his anger palpable as he did so. People swiftly moved out of the way of the irate boy, lest he focus his wrath upon them. They had no idea why he was angry, or even who or what he was looking for, but it obviously was in a grave amount of danger.

The brunette stopped outside the bar he had last seen the Boss at, and scowled as he gazed at the building. It had obviously closed for repairs of some kind, as there were bits of chairs and tables laying broken all around the establishment. He focused, using skills he had learned, i.e. stolen, from the Boss to examine the scene.

There was an altercation, obviously, and a one sided one at that. The blood stains on the ground indicate a major injury due to the amount, and the multiple sets of footprints on the ground make it obvious that the beaten party had friends to help him leave the establishment. But, knowing the Boss, he wouldn't have left with anyone for any reason. Even bleeding and on deaths door, his pride would prevent him from asking for help from anyone.

It was one of the very few things that he would ever admit to liking about the Boss.

The brunette continued to follow the footsteps, recognising them as the Boss' boot prints. They walked down the street for a ways, stopping every now and then, before continuing on. It looked like he had simply wandered all over town just walking and thinking, most likely internally monologuing as he often did when Boss had free time to do so.

The boy was stopped when he accidentally ran into a large body, sending him to his rear. Looking up, he saw an obese man wearing mismatched armor glaring at him with bloodshot eyes. He had the smell of cheap wine and whores about him, a stench that brought up unpleasant memories to the young boy. What caught the brown haired kids attention the most was the fact the man had one arm.

"Eh? Who the hell is the Shitty Yarou(1) doing walking around bumping into important people?" The man growled as he loomed over the boy. His breath stank of old meat and fresh wine, the stench of infected flesh irritating the boys trained nose. Looking closer, he saw the dirty bandages on the mans stump, where the smell was originating from. "Well? Aren't you going to answer me, Shitty Yarou?"

The boy glared in defiance as he stood up proud and tall, barely even reaching the fat mans bulging stomach in height. "Oi, asshole, my name is not Shitty Yarou! My name is Konohamaru, Samurai Soldier under the Boss!"

Kumaka scowled as he glared down at the brat. His week was already bad enough and this kid was making it worse. He didn't have the time nor need to entertain a brat when he could be hunting down the bastard who took his arm and make him pay! "Shut up boy! Do you even know who I am?!"

"No! And why would I wanna know the name of some Samurai-Wannabe anyways?" Konohamaru shot back, his brown eyes fiercely trying to burn the man in front of him to death with their intensity.

"I am Kumaka the Ox! Captain of the City Guard of Shuzu Gai!" The obese man roared, his lone hand going for the rusty blade at his waist. His intent was clear as he did; he was going to teach the boy a lesson and do so by cutting him up. He had barely drawn the blade halfway out of it's sheath when a sudden blow to his head knocked him flat onto the ground, head twirling as he tried to comprehend what just happened to him. The large man scrambled to his feet and glared at the smirking kid, the rage in his eyes palpable as steam seemed to pour from his nostrils from his intense anger.

"Ox my ass! You're more like an overstuffed barrel!" The boy exclaimed, his grin widening and becoming much more ape like, almost like a monkey, before he took off, his headbands tail wagging about like a monkey tail.

Kumaka scowled at the boy, sending a few silent curses at him as he began staggering to the Doctors office.

XXXXLine BreakXXXX

Konohamaru was snickering to himself as he ran to the Blossom, a mischievous grin on his youthful face as he began approaching the reputable whore house. His thoughts then turned from the bumbling and idiotic Kumaka to why in the Seven Hells did the Boss decide to come here?

He would have thought that the bastard had some kind of pride in himself, and wouldn't stoop so low as to pay for sex from some woman. Apparently his thoughts on the man were wrong, as he found himself outside The Blossom, staring at the doors to enter the establishment with wide, brown eyes.

He was so not prepared for this. It wasn't even funny, in all honesty. He was barely even twelve and was relatively innocent, well, as innocent as he could be when travelling with the Boss. This was a whole new world for Konohamaru, and it was surely going to test his patience and virtues.

His hand shook as he raised it to the door, trembling and moving erratically as he attempted to push down his nervousness.

Before the young boy knew it, his hand was wrapping gently on the wooden door. It was barely a moment later when it opened and a woman with a voluptuous body and purple hair stepped out, looking around as if in search of someone, only to look down at him and raise a delicate eyebrow.

"How may I help you, young man?" Her voice was melodious and soft, kind of what Konohamaru was expecting of it to be.

He stumbled for an answer for a few seconds before he managed to get out with his request. "I-I'm looking for someone. A man. He has blonde hair and wears weird armored clothes..."

He trailed off as the woman contemplated what his request was, when suddenly her face lit up with recognition. "You must be talking about the Stranger that showed up last night asking for a room! Oh yes, he is most certainly here. I shall take you to him."

The boy was lead through the front foyer to the sitting room, where he heard talking and male voices conversing with each other. His curiosity began to get the better of him as he thought on who could be in there. For sure the Boss, why would they be going back to that room if it wasn't, but he had no idea who would be talking with the man. In all the time that they knew each other and had travelled together, he had never had any kind of friend or even attempted to make friends.

They began to get closer to the door, where he saw a very pretty woman around the Boss' age with lime green hair in pigtails waiting outside the door with a slightly worried face, the oaken door muffling whatever conversation was going on inside. The woman looked at him in curiosity, before she looked at the older woman. "Matron, they've been arguing for a long time now. Shouldn't we do something?"

Matron shook her head as he placed a hand on the door, giving the woman a look before pushing it open, revealing the occupants and making them stop their conversation short.

It was Naruto, dressed like he was yesterday, and another man. The other man had very spiky black hair and cold onyx eyes. His skin was pale and smooth, no visible flaws on the bits that were seen outside of this clothing. He was covered, head to toe, in black clothing that looked like the traditional shinobi attire, with the kimono like top and mesh armor, with the shortened hakama pants with sandals that reminded one of the ancient times. He had a red scarf wrapped around his neck, and on his lower back were two tantos. Over his clothing was dark grey armor covering his chest, forearms, and shins, as well as the back of his hands.

The two of them had been caught mid argument, with the blonde having rolled up his sleeve to reveal a strange looking tattoo on his arm. It looked like some kind of mix between a shark and an eagle, but it couldn't really be seen all that well by the intruders.

The blonde looked at Matron with a slight annoyed glare, his face now covered by his scarf as he did. "You know I did pay for this room and privacy, right?"

Matron just pulled a fan out of her kimono sleeve and hid her mouth behind it, her eye crinkling in mirth as she replied to his annoyance. "There was a young man here, asking about a man of your description. I have him here for you..."

She stepped aside and the young brown haired boy came running in, leaping over the table that separated Naruto from the door feet first, only to slam both heels into the mans face, sending both of them into the floor.

Silence reigned as the shock registered over the people gathered there. Never had they seen such a blatant and strange display of greeting. It took a moment for the thought to even register in them before they let the shock show on their faces.

Konohamaru struggled to rise to his feet after drop kicking Naruto out of his chair, as his foot had partially hit the body armor the blonde wore, sending his foot into a state of near comical agony. He hadn't expected that drop kicking the Boss would hurt as bad as it did now.

As for the blonde, he simply lay there, staring at the ceiling and blinking as he got the cobwebs out of his head. The kick hadn't hurt. Not one bit. he had suffered far worse than a simple kick to the head. He was, however, rather upset that the monkey brat had drop kicked him.

He sat up, rubbing his face through the scarf over it, before standing and walking to the monkey boy, before viciously ramming his knuckles into the kids head, driving him head first into the ground. "What the hell brat?! What was that for?!"

Konohamaru replied from the ground, holding his head as he did so, crocodile tears in his eyes as he glared at Naruto. "That was for tying me to a tree and telling me to find you when I got out of the rope!"

"And you did! But why the dropkick, huh?!"

"Because you tied me to a fucking tree! Who the hell does that?!"

"Badasses who don't have time to deal with dumbass brats who complain eveyr five frakking seconds!"

A couch from the pale, black haired man cut off their argument, making the blonde turn to him. "As amusing as it is to see this, don't you think we should finish our conversation, Naruto?"

The blonde shook his head and crossed his arms, ignoring Miku as she helped Konohamaru up off the ground and poked the plumb shaped lump on his head. "No. It's best we not. As it stands, I want to thank you for telling me about 'that'. And I also want to warn you about your dealings with the Old Bastard. He's more liable to betray you than anything, so watch your back."

"While your concern is appreciated, it is unnecessary. I am more than capable of dealing with the man."

Naruto shook his head and replied to the mans casual arrogance with a few more words of wisdom. " 'Caution is the best approach when dealing with vipers', Sasuke. Don't rush into this just because he is offering you a good deal."

Konohamaru looked curiously at Naruto, his youthful face holding many questions as he asked. "What are you guys talking about?"

"Nothing, brat. Now, tell me, what took you so long to get here?" He was curious. Normally it took the brat less time than that to find him.

Konohamaru scowled and punched Naruto's arm in frustration. "Well I had to find your geriatric ass!"

"As if i would be found by some Shitty Yarou who can't even shave regularly yet."

"You wanna go, Old Man!?"

"Old Man? I'm barely even into my twenties, Shitty Yarou!"

"Your still an old man, Old Man! And I am not a Shitty Yarou!"

"Shitty Yarou!"

"Old Man!"

"Shitty Yarou!"

"Old Man!"

"Shitty Yarou!"

"Old Man!"

"Shitty Yarou!"

"Old Man!"

The two males had degraded themselves to a childish fight on the floor, wrestling to gain some kind of upper hand in the situation. Miku merely gaped at them in blatant shock. This was so unlike the stoic man who had come last night. He was lively around the boy, Konohamaru, and showed some kind of care for him.

Meanwhile, Sasuke was gathering his belongings and putting them on his person. He turned to the table and placed a leather-bound book, with what appeared to be some sort of religious symbol on the front, onto the polished wooden surface and began to walk away without saying anything. He had no reason to stay after speaking with the blonde, and even then the code they had used while that Miku girl was in the room was more than enough to keep his true intent clear.

Although, the message relayed during the hidden conversation to him by his blonde associate was most troublesome: The King Has Pawns. What did it mean? Was it a warning? A code within a code?

Well, he would find out anyway. He just had to make a few stops along the Deadlands in order to gather more information.

Back at the Brothel, the Matron watched as the blonde man began to chew out the young brunette boy about 'proper respect for places and things' after she had demanded to know just who it was that broke the wooden table in the room.

Said blonde impassively watched as the brown haired boy glared defiantly at the floor, to ashamed to meet his gaze as he did. The man just loved messing with the gullible boy and messing with him. That in and of itself was amusing. "Konohamaru, you worthless fool! You have broken this ladies nice, but admittedly cheap, furniture! Apologize the the Matron at once!"

A silence fell upon them as the watched him slam his knuckles into Konohamaru's skull and drive his head into the ground.

It was certainly awkward after that.

There was absolutely no doubt about that. Silence reigned as everyone present processed what he had said, the gears in their heads slowly turning to give meaning to the words that had come out of his mouth and his actions following it.

It was the Matron who spoke first, her tone filled with disbelief as she looked at the smug blonde, a bit insulted at his words. "What the hell is wrong with you?! You don't just say those kinds of things to people. They have feelings! And that table was not cheap!"

"Feelings? Feelings are for wimps. A true man feels nothing but hunger and lust! Whether for sex or battle is irrelevant!" Konohamaru nodded behind him, his head bobbing as he absorbed the words coming from Naruto, completely forgetting it was the blonde who had given him the plumb shaped bump on his head in the first place.

Miku simply shook her head, her pigtails whipping about wildly as she did. She just had to be following an idiot, didn't she? Why couldn't she have been sent to follow a nice, normal, sane man with a good paying job and no penchant for causing misery and chaos? "That was the stupidest thing that has ever come out of your mouth, wasn't it?"

Matron simply scoffed and looked at her, her eyes deadpan as she did. "Then you've obviously never really spoken to him, have you?"

XXXLine BreakXXX

A large, Inquisitor-class warship was seen, the iron sides and armor making an intimidating sight for anyone to see. Massive 40 and 50 millimeter cannons were mounted evenly along all sides of it's deck and undercarriage, giving a meaningful representation of the overall firepower that this one ship alone was worth.

On it's side was a silver Fleur de Lis, twisted into a gothic visage, with the name Deus ex Bestia written underneath.

Inside of the steering command center stood a young man with silvery grey hair and piercing yellow eyes that seemed to bore into whatever sat before his gaze. His uniform was perfectly tailored to his broad shouldered and muscular frame, the grey cloth wrinkle free and without tear or snag. His captains jacket hung heavily over his grey suit, the silver material accented by the golden lapels and epaulette sewn into the coat. His black leather shoes were shined to a bright sheen, appearing as if it was a blackened mirror. His hands covered in black gloves clenched as he glared out the window at the passing clouds, ignoring the small hub of conversation as his men went about their work. The strange thing that made him, as well as all of the others on the ship, stand out from normal humans was the fact that they all stood somewhere around 7'0" to 7'6".

His mission was clear in his mind, the objective ready to be completed. No one would get in his way, and no one was going to stop him from retrieving the Canidole. And most certainly not any kind of Heretic would stop him or get in his way.

The Emperor demanded it to be so, and it shall be. He would bring honor to his nation and wipe out all of the heretics that populated the last known location of the Canidole, he swore it!

XXXLine BreakXXX

Those who live and those who die, an Iron Will all around.

He sighed as he recited the line of his favorite book in his head, even as the Jumper shook due in no small part to the wind and turbulence. His grip on his weapon tightened as the sensation of falling slightly hit him, making his stomach flop.

He looked up as a soft chuckle reached his ears, a scowl already on his face as he did. The man across from him was large, but not from fat, but rather due in no small part because of diet and natural size. His head was completely shaved of hair, and his deep brown eyes shone with a hidden mirth as he regarded him.

"What's so funny, Emile?" He asked, his voice accented heavily by his time spent in his home province of Pelles.

The chuckling man, now named Emile, regarded him again in amusement, before shouldering his rifle, shaking his head. He wore, like all of the others in the Jumper save the few Bios, the standard uniform of grey and black with the dark green plate like armor on his chest, forearms, and shins.

A lot of good it did them, though.

"Just that if you scowl at the Jumper much more, we're liable to crash, Pike." Emile's voice was smooth like a river over stones, with the barest hints of a Pelles accent to it. If it hadn't of been for his completely shave head and the scars covering the left side of his face.

Pike was distinguishable from his bright, almost blindingly bright, blue eyes and his dark brown hair that was just long enough that it caused him to go bereft of a helmet, an odd combination for a Pellen, but, who was complaining?

As a member of the 42nd Legendary Battalion, or the Boomer Boys, it was expected of them to have a diverse group of people. Didn't mean he enjoyed being stuck with Emile as one of his sole friends from Pelles, but never look a gift horse in the mouth. It was bad enough that his commanding officer was a racist prick and that Emile didn't know how to shut up.

Shaking his head at his friend, Pike closed his eyes and tried to catch some sleep. They would be arriving soon at the town that their information said the Indies would be attacking soon, and as a Soldier it was their job to fuck up any plan the Indies had.

The locals called it Shuzu Gai.

In Tyrus, it was called Battleground 73.

AN: Not much else to say really.

If anyone has a suggestion for what they would like to see, review and tell me what you guys are wanting to see.

A reviewer commented on the technology, comparing it to Samurai 7, and when I thought about it the comparison is really good. So, if that explains it better than I could have the level of technology, then I am glad he commented on it.

In other news, next chapter marks the end of the Introductory Arc and the beginning of the Travel Arc. I'm going to try and make the Arcs last about three chapters before the next one, so it has some kind of organization.

(Preview)

The city burned that night. Great colors or orange and red licked the sky and illuminated the night as the acrid smoke stung in their lungs, even as the blonde snapped the reins more, begging the horses to flee with all the might they could muster.

The woman, Miku, sat in the back, watching, in a catatonic state as it burned, her eyes blank and filling with unshed tears as the ship continued to pound out canon fire, ripping apart all she knew.

It looked like something out of hell, this blazing inferno of color and sound.

Why had this happened? For what reason did they have to pick Shuzu Gai, her home, as a battleground for their two hundred and fifty year long pissing contest?

The Indie ship finally gave up the fight against the Tyran ground forces and retreated, their Airship soaring away as fire poured from it's engines and metal fragments fell.

Was this really how the world was?

(End Preview)


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